The World Cup is around the corner and former champions England are in a dubious position if their recent ODI form is taken into account. However, their standout performer with the bat in ODIs has been Dawid Malan for last 18 months. He scored century against Australia, against South Africa and against Bangladesh; only batter for English team to score a century in every series he has played since England’s T20 World Cup triumph in 2022.
Dawid Malan has been picked up for the England’s squad for the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. However, as the team setting stands at the moment, he will need to earn his place because he primarily bats in the top three and the spot seems to be booked by Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Joe Root.
Root scored 98 runs in 6 matches in year 2022 so he might be the one vacating place for Dawid Malan. But the World Cup is in India and Root has been prolific in India with the bat, scoring 295 runs in 6 innings at an average of 59. So who is going to make a way for England’s inform batter Dawid Malan? Leaving him out of the playing eleven will be a grave injustice to all of his good hard work and effective innings that he has played.
England Can’t Leave Out Dawid Malan
Malan’s exceptional batting goes beyond number because sometimes when you are too much soaked in numbers, the circumstances and scenarios can go out of conversation. Malan has scored 134 runs against Australia at Adelaide when the second top scorer for English team on that day was David Willey with 34 runs.
Another instance that needed to be recalled is against South Africa at Kimberley when the team had lost 3 batters for 14 runs, Dawid Malan stood there with a definite resilience and turns things around with his 118 runs innings in the third ODI. The standout things about that innings was his acceleration in the second half of his innings, after scoring half century in 79 balls, he changed gears and attacked spin and pace alike.
Perhaps the biggest challenge that Malan stood against was against Bangladesh at Mirpur when the conditions were almost alien for an English batter. Once again, it was his maturity and this incredible game sense and he is a kind of batter you back to finish off an innings with a win in tough situations. His 114* runs in 145 balls might not look fancy but when one reads that the next top batter for England in that match was Will Jacks with 26 runs, the substantiality and grittiness of Malan’s innings becomes crystal clear.
How prolific Dawid Malan can be in ODI World Cup 2023 for England?
It can’t be assumed how good he will prove with the bat for English side in the World Cup but having a guy like Malan in the team is same as having count on as most reliable in all types of situation. England’s selection has looked a raffish because the guy who deserves all the praise never received it once. There is all talk about Harry Brook, of course he is an showman but what about the guy who has held highest standard of batting for English side in last 18 months.
Is the entire team strategy is focused on getting X-factord potential individuals and experienced and result producing players aren’t valued anymore? Malan had always to be at his a game to keep his place intact in the team while the management and selectors keep speculating a new number 3 because they want a dynamic striker. The World Cup will take place in India, and as a team, you need guys who bat in the middle overs against high quality spinners because it is not going to get easy in those conditions.
The case of Dawid Malan is an interesting one. He deserves credit for the way he has maintained his a game on away tours and if not spotlight then at least some recognition and backing up.
